WHAT ARE STRATEGIES USED TO
ACQUIRE AND DISTRIBUTE
RESOURCES?
1. War – we know this from past lessons this unit
2.
Trade – In the Ancient world one example is the Silk Road (Silk
Routes).
3.
Imperialism – exploring and claiming lands which were not in the
“known world” at the time
4.
Roman roads - are one lasting legacy of Roman domination and
many are still in use today. (While a benefit of a large network of
roads was the transport of goods, their most significant purpose was
the fast mobilization of the Legions.)
“The network was used regularly from 130 BCE, when the Han (Chinese Dynasty) officially
opened trade with the west, to 1453 CE, when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with the
west and closed the routes.”
www.ancient.eu/Silk_Road/
“…many historians refer to the 19th Century as the golden age of European imperialism an age during which Europeans owned or controlled most of Africa and Asia and all or
part of every other continent. Wealth and power was defined by one’s colonial
possessions and each country's prosperity hinged on its ability to maintain and expand its
colonial empire.”
users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist111/WWI.html
HOW ARE RESOURCES
DISTRIBUTED IN ROMAN SOCIETY?
“There was a large gulf between the wealthy upper classes (the
senatorial and equestrian classes, shown on the pediment of the
temple above), and the poorer lower classes, though it was still
possible—although quite difficult—to move upwards by acquiring
sufficient wealth.”
(for the next slide as well)
www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html
“Romans thrived off of its imports, and importers were among the
wealthiest citizens of the Empire.”
www.unrv.com/economy.php
“The basis for this class was political. …
Senators had to prove that they had
property worth at least 1,000,000 sesterces.”
“The basis for this class was economic. A man
could be formally enrolled in the equestrian
order if he could prove that he possessed a
stable minimum amount of wealth (property
worth at least 400,000 sesterces)…”
“…all other freeborn Roman citizens. … All
Roman citizens had conubium, the right to
contract a legal marriage with another
Roman citizen and beget legitimate children
who were themselves Roman citizens.”
“…men and women who had been slaves but
had bought their freedom or been
manumitted.”
“…system of chattel slavery where human beings were born into slavery or sold into slavery through
war or piracy. Slaves were the property of their owners by law, but by custom some slaves (especially
urban, domestic slaves) might be allowed their own savings (peculium) with which they might later
buy their freedom, or their masters could manumit them,…”
WHY DID ROMANS
HAVE TO PAY TAXES?
… TO PAY FOR THE
MILITARY!
•
•
•
early days of the Roman Republic, public taxes
consisted of modest assessments on owned wealth and property (levied
Squad
against land, homes and other real estate, slaves, animals, personal items and in the
monetary wealth)
Roman
The tax rate under normal circumstances was 1% and sometimes would climb military
as high as 3% in situations such as war.
By 167 B.C. the Republic had enriched itself greatly through a series of
conquests. Gains such as the silver and gold mines in Spain created an
excellent source of revenue for the state, and a much larger tax base through
its provincial residents.
www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php
HOW DID THE MILITARY EARN
RESOURCES AND WEALTH?
Citizenship
Being a soldier was the only way for a member of the
working class, or the children of soldiers to become a
citizen. You could be discharged in one of three
ways: ignominiosa, because of bad discipline; causaria,
because of health problems; or honesta, for completing
service to the satisfaction of your superiors. This last was the
only way to obtain citizenship, except to be the child of two
citizens. A soldier with honesta was given a piece of land
and an amount of money somewhere in between 3000 and
8250 denariii, more if the soldier was a centurion. The primus
pilus was given enough money to retire and live well for the
rest of his life.
romanmilitary.net/
Roman Military Dress
HOW DID THE MILITARY
EARN RESOURCES AND
WEALTH?
Land Ownership
According to Jacob F. Field who wrote “We Shall Fight on the
Beaches”… it was customary for generals to be gifted land as a
prize for excellent service (i.e. winning a war or an excellent
conquest)
“The emperor (Constantine XI of the Byzantine Empire which was
a continuation of the Roman Empire) was true to his promise of
death or glory. He had rebuffed all of Mehmed’s (Mehmed II,
Ottoman sultan who had taken over much of all of Byzantium
except Constantinople) attempts to negotiate a peaceful
surrender, even when the sultan offered to spare his life and grant
him lands in Greece.”
Typical town in
Italian
countryside.
Could have
been land
owned by a
Roman general.
HOW DID THE MILITARY
CONTRIBUTE TO
RESOURCES AND WEALTH?
Economic Life of the Soldier
•
The Roman soldiers were an integral part of the Roman economy. They expanded the
Empire's territories, allowing the economy to expand, protected trade routes, and
consumed large amounts of food and metals.
•
The soldiers also required regular infusions of monetary supplements (i.e., salaries), which
the government paid.
•
Soldiers could supplement their incomes with what they could pillage (consequence to
the populations) from conquered territory, or occasional gifts from the government.
These gifts were often given whenever a new emperor rose to power, as a way of
securing the loyalty of the troops. One such "gift" was five years of pay!
•
To decrease the amount of money they had to pay for food, many soldiers farmed land
near where they were posted.
romanmilitary.net/
Artifact
in
Roman
Military
Museum
WHY DID THIS SYSTEM
STOP WORKING?
•
For most of its history, Rome’s military was the
envy of the ancient world. But during the decline,
the makeup of the once mighty legions began to change.
•
Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman citizenry,
emperors like Diocletian and Constantine began hiring
foreign mercenaries to prop up their armies.
•
The ranks of the legions eventually swelled with Germanic
Goths and other barbarians, so much so that Romans
began using the Latin word “barbarus” in place of
“soldier.” While these Germanic soldiers of fortune proved
to be fierce warriors, they also had little or no loyalty to the
empire, and their power-hungry officers often turned
against their Roman employers.
www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell
CONSEQUENCES OF
DECREASE IN MILITARY
CONQUESTS?
Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor
•
Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces,
it was also crumbling from within thanks to a severe financial crisis.
•
Constant wars and overspending had significantly lightened imperial coffers, and
oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between rich and poor.
•
Rome’s economy depended on slaves to till its fields and work as craftsmen, and its
military might had traditionally provided a fresh influx of conquered peoples to put
to work. But when expansion ground to a halt in the second century, Rome’s supply
of slaves and other war treasures began to dry up.
•
A further blow came in the fifth century, when the Vandals claimed North Africa and
began disrupting the empire’s trade by prowling the Mediterranean as pirates.
•
With its economy faltering and its commercial and agricultural production in
decline, the Empire began to lose its grip on Europe.
www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell
WAS THIS CLASS SYSTEM
SUPPORTED BY ALL?... NO
•
When Roman farms were small and slaves were few, a
strong rapport could build up between slave and master.
•
But with the passage of time the master was ever less
present in the increasingly large estates which would be
run by unscrupulous farm managers
•
The slaves were treated little better than animals and it is
hardly surprising that there was more than one slave revolt.
•
The most significant slave revolts were in 196BC, 186BC and
most particularly in 139, the latter being worthy of
consideration as an outright war. 70,000 slaves took control
of Sicily as well as winning several pitched battles. It took
some seven years to re-establish some sort of order.
www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/Ancient_Roman_Curren
cy_Economy.htm
Painting depicting a
scene from Third
Servile War
WAS THIS SYSTEM OF
WEALTH DISTRIBUTION
SUPPORTED BY ALL?
... NO
•
Around 130-120BC, two brothers known as the Gracchi brothers, of noble descent, took it in turn
to promote a number of social reforms in favour of the plebeians (people of lower social classes)
but also with the noble consideration in mind of preventing social disaster.
•
These reforms included limits on land-owning and some redistribution of wealth by handing the
poorer classes land from the public estate or from proceeds abroad (such as Pergamum). The
reforms clearly went down very badly with the Patrician conservatives and ended up in violence;
both brothers were eventually killed (actually one killed himself on seeing the soldiers killing his
supporters).
www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/Ancient_Roman_Currency_Economy.htm
HOW ARE DECISIONS
MADE REGARDING
DISTRIBUTION AND
PRODUCTION OF
WEALTH AND
RESOURCES?
•
The reforms were rendered ineffective but they did provide a basis for the popular party in
contrast to that of the conservative nobles. A further 100 years and a couple of civil wars between
the two factions would have to pass before the likes of Caesar and Augustus went about settling
the issue to a degree.
•
First Julius Caesar and then Augustus were great reformers and are not only remembered for their
military capability but also for the extensive works they undertook in the public interest. Through
great urban development projects they rendered available to the masses much of the wealth
which hitherto had been reserved to a few.
www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/Ancient_Roman_Currency_Economy.htm
PRODUCTION OF WEALTH AND
RESOURCES? (BASIS OF THE ROMAN
ECONOMY)
•
For all of the glory and grandeur of Ancient Rome, the Roman economy never developed into
anything terribly complex compared to modern economies.
•
Ancient Rome was an agrarian and slave based economy whose main concern was feeding the
vast number of citizens and legionaries who populated the Mediterranean region.
•
Agriculture and trade dominated Roman economic fortunes, only supplemented by small scale
industrial production.
•
The staple crops of Roman farmers in Italy were various grains, olives, and grapes. Olive oil and
wine, outside of direct food stuffs, were among the most important products in the ancient
civilized world and led Italy's exports.
www.unrv.com/economy.php